Rockwell Wins Midgetman Pact for $436 Million : Defense: The award comes six days after President Bush proposed nuclear arms cuts that threaten some of the firm's MX missile contracts.

Rockwell Wins Midgetman Pact for $436 Million : Defense: The award comes six days after President Bush proposed nuclear arms cuts that threaten some of the firm’s MX missile contracts.

By DEAN TAKAHASHI

Oct. 3, 1991 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

ANAHEIM —

Six days after President Bush proposed nuclear arms cuts that threaten some of Rockwell International Corp.’s contracts for MX missiles, the company was awarded a $436-million contract for the small intercontinental ballistic weapons.

The Air Force on Wednesday awarded the five-year contract to Rockwell’s Autonetics Strategic Systems Division in Anaheim to continue development of guidance and control systems for the small ICBM, or Midgetman, a single-warhead version of the 10-warhead MX missile.

In a speech last week, Bush proposed deep cuts in the nuclear arsenals of the United States and the Soviet Union. The President canceled the development of mobile nuclear missiles, including the rail-based MX and truck-based Midgetman. Rockwell was working on both programs at its plant in San Bernardino.

The latest Air Force award could potentially offset any work Rockwell might lose as a result of those cancellations.

Bush also offered to negotiate with Moscow to eliminate multiple-warhead missiles, including the MX. Rockwell builds the guidance and control system for the MX.

Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) said last week that Bush’s proposal to negotiate the elimination of multiple-warhead missiles, such as the MX, could generate new support in Congress for the Midgetman.

George Torres, a Rockwell spokesman, said earlier this week that Bush’s proposals could directly affect jobs at the San Bernardino plant, which employs 500 people. Depending on how quickly the programs are canceled, the company could move employees to other programs.

Rockwell’s Defense Electronics division employs 6,500 people, mostly in Anaheim. Several hundred of those employees work on the MX program in Anaheim.

Torres said there would be no immediate impact on the MX program in Anaheim. The program’s elimination would be linked with future arms control agreements between the United States and Soviet Union, which “could be a lengthy process,” he said.

The Air Force plans to build up to 500 Midgetman missiles, beginning in 1997, as replacements for an earlier-generation missile, the Minuteman III. Since October, 1990, El Segundo-based Rockwell has received two contracts totaling $80.9 million to develop the Midgetman guidance and control program. About 200 people in Anaheim work on the Midgetman program.